Tag Archives: Charitropakhyan

Guruji has shown immense kirpa – the fifth article in the series is now complete. Sabudh Baach is a deeply engaging story, with many important moral lessons to be learnt from it. It provides a nice, in-depth analysis of various metaphorical verses, along with brief description of the story itself. Attempt is to answer many important questions like Concept of Mahakal, implicit references to Puranic texts, etc. It is a sincere hope that this pious composition of Sri Guruji be read by critics and curious alike. As with previous articles, this one is also extensively based on Dr. Harbhajan Singh Ji’s book + Gyani Narain Singh Ji’s Steek along with massive help from Mahan Kosh by Bhai Kahn Singh Ji Nabha. Ok, enough Read on, im sure this will be an eye opener!

The third section of Charitropakhyan has generally remained neglected. Dialogues of minister ‘Bhoop’ end at Charitar 403 and the composition begins under a new title ‘ਸਬੁਧੀ ਵਾਚ’ (Sabuddhi Vaach). The word ‘ਸਬੁਧਿ’ is shortened form of ‘ਸਦ-ਬੁਧਿ’ which means ‘ਚੰਗੀ ਬੁਧੀ’ (good intellect). The metaphorical meaning is that King Chitr Singh eventually came to his senses with persistent inspiration from his wise ministers. A more comprehensive and global meaning is, when wise and responsible people present before society the dangers of crimes originating from kaam in a proper manner, people become prudent and pleasing atmosphere is created. The writer of Charitropakhyan tells that with the advent of prudence, Satjug-like age dawned again. Negating the age of Satjug as given in Shastars, it has been described as an age where expansion of positive reasoning takes place, ending society’s seemingly inexhaustible preoccupation with bad habits. The pitch black night of Kaljug in which inexorable sexual misconducts take place is pleasantly transformed into Satjug by the light of positive intellect. In fact, this ideology is in complete harmony with that of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, who tell us that it is not time that influences good or bad behaviour in society, rather it is human conduct that make time appear good or bad. With the end of Kaljug and rise of Satjug, a character named ‘ਸਤਿ ਸੰਧਿ’ (Satt Sandh) appears in the story. Word ‘ਸਤਿ ਸੰਧਿ’ (Satt Sandh) is a combination of two words – ਸਤਿ meaning ‘truth ‘and ਸੰਧਿ, which means ‘union’. Thus, ‘ਸਤਿ ਸੰਧਿ’ is someone who has merged and become one with truth. Because Satt Sandh is a truthful person, as such he is king of Devtas. He ruled as a righteous king for long time but then a monstrous demon took birth and clashed with him. Many horrific battles were fought between them, with battlefields drenched with blood of thousands of perished soldiers. In Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji, wherever war scene are described, reader is also provided rendezvous with horrors of war. We are also told that, even if one faction might decide to fight out of sheer desperation to defend its faith, sadistic souls will always look to find cheap pleasures out of misery of others. Devils, foxes, dogs, vultures, etc.. are only satisfied when they see rivers of human blood flowing in front of their eyes. This important trait can be seen prevalent in almost every episode of Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji and the message delivered is universal: aftermath of war is never positive. Righteous men of faith have to pick up their swords in self-defence, a beautiful example of which is by Sri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji in his eternal composition “Zafarnamah”:

Quote

ਚੁ ਕਾਰ ਅਜ਼ ਹਮਹ ਹੀਲਤੇ ਦਰ ਗੁਜ਼ਸ਼ਤ ॥ ਹਲਾਲ ਅਸਤ ਬੁਰਦਨ ਬ ਸ਼ਮਸ਼ੀਰ ਦਸਤ ॥੨੨॥

Meaning –“When an affair is past every other remedy, it is righteous, indeed to unsheath the sword.” Contrary to this, evil forces tirelessly make efforts to create atmosphere of discontentment and unrest in society.

For twenty long years and through day and night, the torch-bearer of righteousness king Satt Sandh kept fighting with ‘ਦੀਰਘਦਾੜ੍ਹ’ (Deeragh Daarh), the king of demons. Eventually, both armies clashed with each other one final time and ended up wiping each other out. Thirty thousand Khoohni soldiers got killed (Khoohni is a unit used to measure size of an army – 1 Khoohni = 21,870 elephants, 21,870 chariots, 65,610 horses and 1,09,350 foot soldiers, it totals to 2,18,700 units. Multiply this number by 30,000 = 6,56,10,00,000 total soliders killed). After that, both kings ferociously clashed with each other. Horrifying battle ensued and there were flames of fire everywhere. Out of these flames, a girl named ‘Baala’ was born. Dictionary meanings of word ‘Baala’ are – girl, female younger than 16 years of age, youthful girl. It is important to keep in mind here that surname ‘kaur’ of Sikh women also represents same meaning. Baala’s emergence from fire has a special metaphorical meaning – With the advent of Satjug, man became ‘Satt Sandh’ (pure, virtuous), and consequently, woman abandoned her corruptness (as depicted in Charitars) and took birth in a new, pure form. When virtuous Baala stepped into the battlefield with arsenal of weapons in her hands, she started slaying enemies, as:

Meaning – When Baala ran about in all four directions (it appeared as if she was) like a garland of snakes. There was no such male in sight, who could make her his own.

This is the ultimate aim of the creator of Sri Dasam Granth – to bestow women with power, to raise them from pits of helplessness and sexual exploitation and establish them at a level of power much higher than that of men. From this revolutionary successful attempt of Sri Guruji, brave and powerful women like Mai Bhago, Bibi Harsharan Kaur, women like those who lived in brutal conditions of the prisons of Mir Mannu, those who kept their devotion unwavering for Guruji even while having garlands of chopped babies around their necks, those who braved strenuous labour in captivity chanting ‘satnaam’, were born in Gurughar out of the bright flames of Chandi. By referring to women by names like Chandi, Bhagauti, Tulwar, Teer, Guruji blessed them with form of Maha-Chandi. In Guruji’s composition “Sabudh Baach”, protagonist ‘Baala’ has only one objective – to marry the lord of universe – Waheguru Ji. There is absolutely no affect of sexual urges on her body, mind and spirit. She has become like the soul whose only aim is to be one with The Supreme-Purity. The following verse shows her eagerness to obtain the Lord:

Then she considered in her heart – I will marry the lord of this universe. Now how do I serve her so that Kaalka Deva is pleased (with me)

This Kaalka Deva is not Mahakaal, but the creator of ‘Kaal’ – Akal Purakh Himself. The story gets immensely deep and absorbing from here on. Akal Purakh said to Baala that you will be able to attain me when the demon ‘ਸ੍ਵਾਸ ਬੀਰਜ’ (Swas Beeraj) gets killed by you.

Meaning –After midnight had passed, lord command – when demon Swas Beeraj gets killed (by you), after that you will be able to marry me

The verse means that when lustful tendencies get destroyed from the breath (Swas) of society (i.e when even minute dormant urges are eliminated), woman’s only motive would be to attain Akal Purakh. According to the story, Baala fought ferociously and as a result many infamous demons got killed.
She has been given the name ‘ਕਾਲਕਾ’ (Kaalka) in verse no. 52, i.e. woman has been depicted as competent Devi. At this stage, ‘Kaal Purakh’ manifests himself in front of Baala, who bows in reverence and requests his help to eliminate demonic forces. Kaal Purakh agrees and they both join hands together in destroying the demons. It is worthy to note that in almost all episodes of Sri Granth Sahib Ji where Devi is mentioned, the prime motive is to provide befitting veneration and infuse such self-determination in woman so that she could even outperform men in the destroying the evil, i.e. men and women could be of assistance to each other. Guruji is not in favour of any sort of imbalance in society; he neither favours male-dominant nor female-dominant social structure. He is staunch supporter of absolute equality and fair justice to everyone. The plan to uproot sexist attitudes and gender discrimination comes to fruition in ‘Sabudh Baach’. If these stories appear to have Puranic connotations, it is simply because during the time of Guruji’s social revolution, Puranas and their contents were deeply imbibed in society’s psyche for centuries. The only motive of Puranic references in Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji is to infuse passion for Dharam Yudh in minds of people. In the story, when Shiv (the Mahakaal of Shaakatpanthis) witnesses formidable alliance of Kaal and Baala proving relentless in war, his throne starts to shake:

Like the theme of compositions like ‘Krishnavtar’, in Subudh Baach too, characters like Khan, Mughals, Sayyed, and Sheikhs enter into battlefield to contend against Kaal Purakh. From the fire of Demons khans are born; and Mughals are born out of the fire from mouths of Pathans. Similarly, from the raging breath of Mughals, angry Sayyeds and Sheikhs are born. The opposers of Sri Dasam Granth find these descriptions meaningless while the fact is, these metaphorical statements exquisitely portrays similarities between the monstrosities of Mughals in India and evil Demons of Puranas. When Pathans invaded India, they burnt the Hindustanis with their fuming rage; when Mughals invaded, they put entire sub-continent into despair and turmoil. Similarly, Sayyeds and Sheikhs showered the locals with their extreme anger and hatred. No one came to India to establish peace and prosperity amongst the population. Just as demons like Nahar, Khan, Jharajhar Khan, Nihang Khan, Bharangh Khan, Jharangh Khan, Bairam Khan, Bahadur Khan, etc. fight against Mahakal, Mughals kept launching vitriolic attacks against religious beliefs of the people of India.

In the story, Mahakal has been portrayed in contemporary context, which provides clear hints that this Mahakal is certainly not Mahakal of Shaakats, because there is absolutely no references to wars between Mughals and Mahakal in any earlier historical or mythological episodes. This Mahakal is the One who has been constantly battling against unholy and impious forces right from Satjug to Kaljug, the present time of Guruji. Therefore, the Mahakal of Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji is none other than the ever-omnipresent Akal Purakh Waheguru. In the story, Mughals do not get scared when Mahakal first destroys Pathans. However, they flee when He starts annihilating them too. Then, He wipes out the Sayyeds and next in line are the Sheikhs. The word Sheikh refers to those sufis who had a definite, albeit implicit, religious agenda of initiating massive wave of conversions in India. They had totally different methodology of converting people than someone like Aurangzeb, nevertheless motives were the same. Descriptions of Mahakal destroying the very existence of all ‘Turks’ represents Sri Guruji’s wish to eradicate the process of conversions, because they were inhumane and downright ugly. The opposers of Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji should never forget that someone who can turn any war episode to fit contemporary issues most certainly cannot be a Pandit of Puranas. He can only be a far-sighted leader whose aim is to break free the people of india from shackles of contemporary problems. There is another important facet to be kept in mind about Sabudh Baach – The protagonist Baala, who fought with immense courage on the advent of Satjug does not appear anywhere in this present episode for a long time. This, again, is a subtle hint that the present social order has rendered the otherwise capable woman absolutely powerless. However, she reappears in the form of Bhawani and joins Kaal Purakh again in war efforts once all the ‘Turk’ Demons have been destroyed. (A clear inspiration delivered through this event is, if women of today get up to fight against oppressors, they can also put an end to evil regimes.) In the end, the following verses appear, which we read daily in Chaupai Sahib:

Sadh Sangat ji, please download the pdf containing the translation and analysis of Sri Charitropakhyan Bani. Please spread this around everywhere so that the sangat may wake up from the lies and slander that nindaks have spread about Gurbani.

With Sri Guruji’s kirpa, the fourth article in the Charitropakhyan series is now complete. This article provides a summary of important Charitars, from no. 25 – No. 403, and attempts to refute the baseless and illogical arguments raised by ragi darshan and his band of nindaks from time to time. It is an important read in my opinion, because allegations like Sri Dasam Granth Sahib ji promotes Brahmanical ideas are aptly refuted with proper quotes. As with the previous articles, this one is also extensively based on Dr. Harbhajan Singh Ji’s book while translations are from Gyani Narain Singh Ji’s steek.

The king in Charitar No. 25 (ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਕੁਮਾਰੀ – Story of Prem Kumari) is an infertile aged man . Concerned about the lack of heir, his politically conscious wife makes physical relations with another man. It is important to note that it is the adulterous nature of the king that has brought about this situation. In Charitar No. 27 (ਬਿਓਮ ਕਲਾ – Story of Beom Kalaa), a similar story is depicted where the protagonist queen is forced to drop her morality because her husband is an old man incapable of procreating. The woman in Charitar No. 28 (ਸੂਰਛਟ – Story of Soorchatt) is extremely beautiful while her husband is disgustingly ugly. 30th Charitar (ਚਾਚਰ ਮਤੀ – Chaachar Mati) tells the story of a queen whose husband is one-eyed and she falls for a wandering juggler. In Charitar No. 32 (ਰਸ ਮੰਜਰੀ – Rass Manjari), the wise protagonist woman Rass Manjari kills the thieves. 49th Charitar (ਨੰਦ ਮਤੀ – Nand Mati) is the story of a woman named Nand Mati, who lives with her husband in Anandpur. Her husband keeps idling in Guruji’s court the whole day while she keeps her engrossed with other men:

The message being given through this story is that it is not a religious obligation to keep sitting in places of worship; it is important to live in and take care of the household affairs too. This is an appropriate admonition for those people who ignore their household responsibilities by staying only at religious places. The story of Charitar No. 80 (ਰਾਧਾ – Radha) is worth paying proper attention to. Under the influence of pessimistic talks of a Yogi, the king in the story makes up his mind to become yogi too. But his thoughtful wife correctly guides him thus:

In this Charitar, woman’s extremely sharp and constructive reasoning is portrayed; the prudent character of queen is able to bring the king back from the path of renunciation and onto the path of Raj-Yog:

Charitar No. 119 (ਰਾਜਕੁਮਾਰੀ ਰੁਦ੍ਰਕਲਾ – Rajkumari RudraKalaa)has been a particular target of intense criticism. It’s story is associated with the practice of sorcery, black magic, incantations, Rudra-Kala and Sambraatra in a state called ਤਿਰਹੁਤ (Terhut). In actuality, the word ਤਿਰਹੁਤ is a corrupted form of word ਤ੍ਰਿਪੁਰ+ਹਤ (Tripur+hatt), used for Shiva. ਸੰਬਰਾਤ੍ਰਿ (Sambraatra) is again used for Shiva and Rudrakalaa, the protagonist of the story, is ‘ਰੁਦ੍ਰ-ਸ਼ਿਵ’ (Rudra-Shiva), the wife of Shiva. The real motive of this story is to negate and criticise the Yantra-Mantra-Tantra (to possess and control, use of magic mantras, sorcery as specified in tantra-shastars) meditation techniques practised by the worshippers of Shiva. The abundance of vulgar words in this story is to reflect and highlight the filth propagated by Tantric faiths. The episode has been written with the specific purpose of repudiation of Shaatvik and similar faiths, therefore it is absolutely inappropriate and irresponsible to associate Charitropakhyan with practitioners of such belief systems. The next Charitar (No. 120 – ਵਿਸ਼ਨੂੰ – Vishnu) is also linked to Shiva, in which his rage is depicted as the root cause of creation of demons.

Charitar No. 266 (ਰਨਖੰਬ ਕਲਾ- RanKhambh Kala ) needs to be analysed in detail because there are lots of questions raised against it by the opposers of Sri Dasam Granth. They also love to distort the meanings of this Charitar in attempt to register an obscene version in the mind of readers, whereas in reality, this lengthy and important Charitar inspires the readers to renounce false beliefs of idol-worship and live in the remembrance of that one and only Akal Purakh Waheguru Ji. This advice comes from the female protagonist of the Charitar, which signifies their highly sensitive and conscious mind. In fact, it is a perfect tribute to the female’s intellectual awareness and rationality against idol-worship, an example which is extremely rare to find in other religious texts of the world. King Sumatt Sen (In most stories, the characters have been named in accordance with their characteristics and personality traits) has one extremely beautiful daughter named Rankhambh Kala and four gallant sons – Saardul Dhuj, Naahar Dhuj, Singh Ket, and Har Ket. The king, in order to get his daughter educated, had given lots of money to a karam-kaandi Brahman expert in religious texts, their grammar and Vedas. One day, the princess goes to the Brahman. With folded hands, the Brahman kept bowing his head repeatedly in front of an idol. The princess laughed and asked him, ‘Why are doing praying in front of this stone with folded hands?’. The Brahman replied, ‘O Princess! The idol you are referring to is not a stone, it is God.’ It is very important for the readers to know the replies made by the princess to refute the Brahman, because it is a vital component of the moral lessons delivered by the Charitars:

Meaning – O fool!; Do you not recognise God, who is omnipresent in all three worlds? You worship this stone, which pushes you (further) away from God. You perform sins on pretext of faith, looking at which, even sin get ashamed. O fool! Drop at the feet of Lord, there is no God exclusively in stones.

Meaning –(That) God has manifested Himself everywhere; in water, on land, in all lifeforms, in every king, in the sun, in the moon, in the sky; He can be realised with love and grace in any of them. In fire, in air, on land; there is no place where He is not present. (He) is omnipresent in everything, and not just in stones.

Meaning – (If we) make the whole earth (our) paper, and seven seas the ink; the entire vegetation cut down to make writing devices; (if we) get Saraswati as the narrator and entire mankind as scribe, (if we) get them to write continuously for 60 yugs (ages), (even then) nobody can find out the mysterious ways of the Lord. O fool! (and you think) you have got Him manifested in this stone.

Meaning – (You) keep holding you breath for few moments and keep chanting ‘Shiv Shiv’ by standing on one leg. If someone comes and gives (you) even one paisa, (you) forget your chants and get busy picking it up with your teeth [like a greedy dog].

Meaning –(You) make clay Shivas and throw it in water after worshipping it and then knead clay to make some (more). (You) fall in the feet (of that idol) and rub foreheads; O (fool!), just think what it has got that it will give (you)? (You) worship its phallus and fall at its feet thinking it is Shiva. (Then) you will only get the thing that you worship (as reward). Will you give it (phallus) to your daughter or chew on it yourself? This is exactly how SadaShiv (God) will humiliate you.

Meaning –O fool! The stone that you think is Shiva, (you) will not receive anything from it. That who itself has been reincarnated as stone, what can it give (you) if its pleased? It will make (you) like itself, then (you) will be conferred the title of stone. O fool! Be aware of this now!; (for you) will not be able to understand it later.

Meaning – (You) spent your life (unaware) in childhood and (you) did not remember Him in (your) youth. (You) kept getting others to donate, while (you) never lifted your hand to give donations (yourself). (You) have lowered God’s head by bowing in front of idols. O fool! (you) remained trapped in web of desires, saying ‘tomorrow, tomorrow’; (you) have wasted life away.Meaning –(You) lecture others but do not follow the teachings (yourself) and (you) keep preaching others to renounce the love for money. In the greed of that money, (you) shamelessly keep begging at every door and from everyone, without considering their status. (You) say I am pure, but (in reality you) are highly impure (because) you work for the malechhs for bits of food. (You claim to be) content but in reality (you) are highly discontent (because you) leave God’s door and beg at every other door.

Meaning – O Brahman! By reading one or two Puranas, (you) have become arrogant. But (you) have not read that Purana, reading which entire sins of the world are eradicated. You pretend to meditate, (but your) mind is engrossed with thoughts of money day and night. Fools may believe your theories, but I do not believe in any of them.

The readers can now make up their own mind whether these supreme, inspirational precepts have been given by some avataree person or by some ordinary poet. Decide for yourself whether slander of such words is the path to emancipation or the path to hell? There are lots of similar motivational verses given in this long story. It appears as if it is neither the minister Bhoop dialogue, nor the advice given to the Brahman; instead, it is a divine message delivered to us by some enlightened soul:

Meaning –To some, these Brahmans teach the art of Tantra and to others, they teach the use of different Mantras. Those who do not get influenced by any of these, they sing songs, sloks and kabits for them. (These Brahmans) are daylight robbers who steal money from people’s houses. (Their dexterity) amazes thieves and puts swindlers to shame. They have no fear of the priest or the law, and (they) do not hesitate to rip off even their own disciples.Meaning – Why do (you) make such effort, for what do (you)worship this idol? Why do you deceit the world? (Your) current life is destroyed; (now you) will lose afterlife too. Do not preach (me) false mantras. Whatever amount of money (you) want, take it and be merry. The mantras you have taught the princes has been taught, but do not teach me (any mantras).

The adversaries of Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji make a big accusation that the spiritual head of this story is the Maha Kaal of Shaakat Panthis. It is important to mention here that the Brahman in this story worships Rudra-Shiva. It is also Shiva as Bhairo, husband of Bhairavi, he is also Mahakal and Rudra, etc. Following are a few references from other granths as proofs:

“He who sees wine, fish, meat, woman should salute the Bhairavi Devi and say Om! Salutation to the beloved of Siva, the remover of all obstacles”[Chapter 25, Shaakat NandatRangini]

“Sankara has as many aspects as there are Mahasaktis, He who worships Her ever worships Him as husband… He who worships the Devis pleases Rudra.”[Principles of Tantra, P.63]

“If it vexes Thee, drown me with a thrust of Thy foot, but then in so doing thou must first raise Thy foot from the breast of Mahakala (Siva). The Devi is represented as standing on Siva, who is, as it were, corpse, for he is bhokta only, whilst she is kartari.”[Principles of Tantra, P.63]

The Mahakal mentioned in the above story is the formless Waheguru – the creator of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra-Shiv. It is the same Waheguru who, in the bani ‘Jaap’, has been referred to as ‘Sarb Kaal’; or ‘Kaalaan Kaal’;. The protagonist Rankhambh Kalaa preaches the Brahman to stop worshipping Rudra-Shiv and idols, and inspires him to worship the formless Mahakal instead. This Mahakal is different from Rudra-Shiv. See verse no. 96 below:

Meaning – If they had any powers in their (false) mantras, they would not beg at every doorstep. (They) chant mantras from mouth and (with that deceit) are able to collect large amounts of wealth. Ram, Krishna, Shiva, Brahma, etc. have all been destroyed and resurrected by Kaal.

By labelling the following verse of this Charitar-story, opposers do widespread slandering of Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji. Actually, they derive wrong meanings from it to project indecency. In reality, however, Rankhambh Kala, after getting fed up with the Brahman’s obstinacy and baseless logic,throws the stone phallus on his face and says the same phallus you worship everyday has struck you on your face today. The verse and its meanings are as follows:

Meaning (From Dr. Jaggi’s translation) (..and she said) O Brahman! Now tell me, where has your Shiv gone now? Whom (you) used to worship all the time, he has broken (your) teeth. (you have) spent so much time worshipping the phallus, (that same phallus) has struck you in the face.

Therefore, there is no indecency in this verse nor anyone other than Akal Purakh has been given the status of the supreme being. Rebuttal of fake rituals of the Brahmans, idol-worship and deity-worship and the motivation for the worship of Only Waheguru Ji instead has been issued via the female protagonist of this Charitar. For rest of the world, it sets a prime example of the awakened state of women and issues an important message that a woman can play important role in spreading true faith as well as in the eradication of baseless traditions. Most Charitars deal with, and successfully portray, kings engrossed in wasteful pleasures, the sexual urges of people impersonating as yogis and great renuniciators, widespread exploitation on the pretexts of Jantra-Mantras, the co-relations between sex and drugs, actions of immorality emerging from incompatible marriages, and the evil nexus of wealth, power and intoxicants. The moral from all of the above is to abstain from such situations and to live a honest, virtuous life. In some stories, Guruji has attached himself as the protagonist to try to convey the message that such attacks of kaam happen on men of God too, and they are able to destroy them with their superior intellect. The following verse beautifully illustrates sharp power of reasoning of women:

It is unfortunate that influential people like Chitr Singh have turned woman of immense talents into Kamini, a symbol of desire. If aged people like him will forcefully establish physical relations with young girls like Chitravarti, it will result in immoral actions in the society as the desires of beautiful and young women cannot be fulfilled by weak, aged, and ugly people:

Another accusation made by the opposition is that charitars give instructions to not disclose secrets to women, which is not in accordance with Gurmat. See the following verses from 12th and 13th charitars:

Meaning –The person who tells the secrets of heart to woman, old age snatches his youth and Yamraj takes away his life.

It is our opinion that these lines appear in those stories where woman has been blinded by sexual desires. It is instructed to not give away heart’s secrets to an immoral woman as the consequences of it can be devastating. Even today, youthful female spies are deployed to spy on other countries. If someone gets lured in their trap and gives away any secrets, then destruction is inevitable. We have seen in previous verses that Sri Guruji has given immense motivation to increase love and affection with one’s own woman, but has given stern warnings against falling for lustful women, as:

Meaning –No matter how much love increases and body goes through torments, (one) should not fall for any other woman (except one’s own) even by mistake.

Sri Guruji also gives the important message to mankind that it is not only woman who is responsible for widespread immorality in society, in fact it is male who is more responsible for this epidemic. That is why, it is inappropriate to be harsh on any woman for her immoral behaviour. As far as possible, It is befitting to forget about her mis-deeds:

Meaning –This is the biggest punishment for the employee and woman – instead of physically hurting them, (one should) throw them out of heart.

Summary of the Charitars

The stories in these Charitars are not sexually provocative; On the contrary, they provide awareness of the social pain, criminal mentality, and exploitation of women that results from intense lust. The wealthy and ruling factions of society have been ridiculed by portraying the sorry state that emerges from their indulgence in lustful actions. The capitalistic mentality in which the only aim of earning and storing money has been shown to have adverse effect on the family network. Those who wear religious attire and pretend to be great renuniciators have been shown to be worse than a family man; they abandon their own houses and wish for others’ wealth and bodies. People who believe in black magic and Tantra shastra have been portrayed rightly as sexually obsessed and of criminal tendencies. Incompatible marriages (aged man marrying young woman, ugly person getting married to beautiful, pleasant woman, a fool with clever woman, a poor man with materialistically ambitious wife) have been shown to bring about devastating consequences. The young widows who find it difficult to remarry have been shown to stray away towards wrongdoings. Conversely, a man marrying multiple women has been shown to develop bad character. And anyone who gives his secret to a nymph has been shown to be completely ruined. The unholy and unbreakable alliance of drugs and sex is told and most importantly, the male society has been held squarely responsible for the birth of immoralities in women. It is almost impossible to find any other such superb literary composition that has provided eloquent and minute disquisition of the psychology of sexually obsessed people the way these Charitars have.

With Guruji’s blessings, here is an analysis of the (in)famous Charitar – The story of (A)noop Kaur. This is the Charitar that darshan ragi used to distort the essence of Charitropakhyan at Rochester, NY. We all know what happened after that, so let’s not go into that. This article, based on Dr. Harbhajan Singh Ji’s book, is an attempt to present descriptions of the plot as well as clear many of the misconceptions being spread by jeonwala and other anti-pantic pseudo-scholars regarding Guruji’s role in this Charitar. As in previous articles, I have provided Gurmukhi meanings done by Gyani Narain Singh Ji to the quoted verses. It is my sincere hope that after reading Dr. Sahib’s article, we will be able to understand this Charitar (and Charitropakhyan) in the way Guruji want us to understand it. Ok, please read on:

The plot of Charitar number 21 is associated with Sri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji. The story of this Charitaris quite similar to the story of Charitar No. 16 ‘Chajjia’. In the 27th verse of this story, the name of this wealthy woman has been given as Noop (or Anoop)Kaur, who gets attracted to Guruji (as protagonist in the story). This wealthy lady bribes a servant of Guruji and gets a message delivered to him saying that she has got one Mantra that Guruji would want to learn. Guruji goes to thelady. Anoop Kaur makes arrangements for flowers, beetle-leafs and wine. It isimportant to remember here that Chajjia had also asked for similar ingredients. Actually, Guruji are exposing the real face of such Tantriks who are absorbed inmagic and sorcery. As soon as Guruji arrives, the lady tells her passion-ridden state of mind and starts begging in front of Guruji to copulate with her.Guruji says to her, “Why should I give up my faith and virtues; why should I drown in hell?” That passion-struck lady says:

To this, Guruji says, “You always bow to my feet in respect, you worship me, and now you get obsessed (to your own Satguru) and want to have sexual relations with him? Don’t you feel ashamed of yourself?”

In fact, the intention in these verses is to illustrate the pious relationship that exists between the Guru and his Sikh. Anoop Kaur has become neglectful of this pious relationship. Guruji is reminding this relationship to her follower who is drowning in sea of immoral desire. The story also shows how sexually obsessed people twist the meanings of religious texts to uphold their actions. The lady says, “Sri Krishna was respected by everyone even after getting intimate with Gopis. He did not go to hell. God has made our bodies with five elements, and attraction between males and females has also materialised by Him, then how can physical relationships be called sinful?”

There is no effect on Guruji despite the lady’s abetment. In this very episode, Guruji utters such pious words which can be aptly called ‘mega-Mantra’ for freedom of humanity from horrible diseases resulting from such immoral actions:

Meaning – (The king i.e. Guruji says- ) Right from the age of understanding, (my) Guru has taught me; O son! Keep this pledged in your heart till the time you are alive, (that) keep increasing love and affection for your own wife, but never, ever go to someone’s else bed even in wildest dreams.

Meaning – Because of illicit relations, Indra had received 1000 female genitals as symbolic punishment. Because of illicit relations, the moon got blemished. Because of illicit relations, Ravana had to lose his heads. (Similarly), because of someone else’s woman, entire army of Kaurvas got killed.

Meaning – Consider love relations with another woman like a sharp edged knife. Consider such relations as a sure invitation to death. Those who consider themselves powerful and have such relations with someone else’s woman, they are eventually delivered dog’s death by cowards.

Meaning – O disciple! Women from various states come to me; accepting me as their Guru, they bow their heads in front of me and get their wishes fulfilled. I consider Sikhs as my own sons and (their) women as my own daughters. O maiden! How can I have wrong relations with them?

Meaning – Give donations to Brahmins* (i.e. virtuous people, see below) and glare threateningly at enemies. Keep your friends happy and (always) keep striking your enemies on the head with sword. Do not do anything that goes against society’s decorum. Do not place your foot on someone else’s woman, even in dreams. From the moment my Guru has taught me this; I have made this pledge that I consider someone else’s money useless as a stone, and someone else’s woman as a mother. * [There are some critics who, without any understand root meaning of the word ‘ਦਿਜਨ’ (Dijan), launch attacks on Sri Dasam Granth. ‘ਦ੍ਵਿਜ’ (Dvij) means a person who is born twice – once from mother’s womb and second time at the house of the Guru, i.e., a virtuous person. Anyone who takes initiation in faith and follows the doctrines of that religion is a Dvij (ਦ੍ਵਿਜ). Thus, translation of ‘ਦਿਜ’ as merely Brahmin isn’t appropriate.]

The clever words of Guruji not only cut the net of perverseness of the woman who had threatened to blemish Guruji and wanted to establish physical contacts with him, but also accused her actions as being wrongful. This woman apologised to Guruji for her behaviour. At this juncture, this episode takes an extremely tragic turn. Guruji intention could never be to make woman feel inferior. That is why Guruji apologises for his behaviour that originated from helplessness, and makes arrangements of half yearly grant of 20 thousand takkas to her so that she can live a respectful, virtuous life.

From the instances in these stories, where Guruji is shown to give monetary assistance, an indication is received that not only he gave inspiration to sexually-obsessed women through the Charitars, but he would also provide monitory assistance for their rehabilitation, so that the aim of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, ‘ਗਾਵਹੁ ਪੁਤ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਜਕੁਆਰਿ। ਨਾਮੁ ਭਣੇ ਸਚੁ ਦੇਤਿ ਸਵਾਰਿ।’could be achieved.

With Waheguru Ji’s blessings, here is part 2 of the ongoing series of articles on Charitropakhyan. This article provides plot descriptions of the Charitars 2 – 16, their importance, lessons to be learned, and clarifications of the misconceptions being spread by anti-panthic forces by twisting some of the meanings of these Charitars. It also contains analysis of Charitar 16, which the haters make the blasphemous mistake of associating it with Sri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji Maharaj. As in previous article, I have extensively used Dr. Harbhajan Singh Ji’s book as reference and Gyani Narain Singh Ji’s steek for some of the gurmukhi meanings. Ok, here’s the article:

[Part II] Charitropakhyan – Analysis of Charitars 2 – 16

Although even the first part of Charitropakhyan (Chandi Charitar) is not acceptable to Sri Dasam Granth’s adversaries, however it is mainly the second part that is the subject of intense hatred as most of the stories deal with amorous events, and it is their belief that they are of lewd, sexual nature. The plot of the second part is something like this: A fairy from the heavens gets enchanted upon seeing the king Chitr Singh of ‘Chitravarti’ state and eventually marries him. This queen fairy gave birth to a beautiful son but went back to heavens after a few years (or we can infer that she passed away). King Chitr Singh became very sad. He ordered his ministers to find him a girl with similar beautiful looks and qualities. The daughter of King of Orissa was almost similar in looks and personality as that of fairy Queen. In order to obtain this girl, king Chitr Singh attacked the king of Orissa. Chitr Singh’s son, Hanwant Singh, supervised and led his father’s army in the battlefield. The king of Orissa was defeated and killed in the war. And so, Chitr Singh won the princess and married her. In reality, however, the new Queen was attracted to king’s son – the handsome, youthful Hanwant Singh.

The king sent Hanwant Singh off to a learned Brahmin for higher education but he always remained quiet and aloof. The king tried talking sense to him, but all his efforts went wasted. When the helpless king presented this issue in front of everyone in his courtroom, Queen Chitramati secretly took Hanwant Singh to her room. She said to him, “You are so charming and indescribably handsome, like the God of love Kama-Dev. O my friend! Your eyes mesmerise me and bewitch my mind… I am not satisfied with the king. Drop your fears of him and copulate with me.” The prince, however, flatly refused her offer. The Queen, embarrassed by his refusal, retaliated by instigating the king, “O King! Your son is most evil! He tore my clothes off and scratched and scarred my whole body!” The king, totally blinded in her lust, ordered the execution of the prince without any investigation. This is when his wise ministers tell him tales that describe the carnal desires of females, although there are a few stories that deal with equivalent male characteristics too. Majority of these stories are based on crimes originating from amorous sentiments. Following are the facts that emerge from the above plot:

1. After attaining power of the State, the ruling faction forgets its primary responsibilities and engages itself in carnal pleasures and other similar immoral acts.

2. The rules shove innocent people into battlefield for their own corporal wants. As a result, the humanity has to suffer in the aftermath.

3. According to the story, king’s son had reached that state of youth where he was able to lead an army by himself i.e. the king was far older than him. Despite his old age, he married a girl much younger than him, while ideally she should have been married to his son instead. Whenever a man uses his wealth and power as influence to establish illicit relations, the results will always be devastating.

4. The mention of aloofness of Hanwant Singh is a portrayal of a child whose parents, like Chitr Singh, make immoral decisions blinded by the influence of amorous desires. The indication of full mental and physical growth of Hanwant Singh is given when he provides leadership services during the war. But the king is ignorant of his son’s mental and physical development. It was natural that all this would have adverse affect on Hanwant Singh. The moral learnt from this incident is that decisions made by people like sexually engrossed Chitr Singh effect their own family first.

5. The moral character of princess was not bad. It is the excesses of man that drives her towards wrong-doings. As a result of these excesses, inappropriate conduct of females projects an illusion of inherent impurity within the society. It is this illusion – the result of male excesses and oppression – that glitters as obscene in the eyes of adversaries of this Granth.

6.In the story, the model, responsible ministers of State have been portrayed. Thus, if a ruler goes astray from the righteous path, it becomes the duty of the ministers to use diplomatic means to persuade him back on the right path – to bring him out of darkness and into the light.

7.It is important to note that the composer of this Bani has deployed intricate, abstract reasoning while creating the plot; he has narrated the ethical content not in first person, rather used ministers for the narrative, which indicates that it is not compulsory for Beebis to read the Charitars. These tales can however be used for the emancipation of people that are trapped in blind faith. Charitropakhyan is a treatise on ethics; it is meant to be quoted wherever need is felt. The first, third and fourth parts of it, however, are highly inspiration for both men and women.

The 401 Charitars that appear in the second part of Charitropakhyan have not been narrated by the ministers for king’s amusement; rather, there aim is to put the king back on the path of righteousness and virtue. The opposing faction of Sri Dasam Granth has serious objections against some of the language used in these stories. A brief critical evaluation of this issue is important. In the first story i.e. third Charitar, the protagonist is a woman whose husband is quite aged, because of which she forms illicit relations with a younger person. Minister says:

Meaning – Women get bewitched by a youthful male, while an aged man gets lured by a woman. This is the custom of this world, (which) everyone knows.

In the second Charitar of this part (ਘੁਰਕੀ – Ghurki), Mahanand is an old man, because of which his wife commits adultery with younger males. The fact that old age is the cause of her wife’s meanderings is crucial to note, because these stories commence with aged men marrying younger women. The abuses hurled at the composer of this work without analysing minute, intricate facts like these are most unfortunate. In the third Charitar (ਸਹਿਜ ਕਲਾ- Sehaj Kalaa), the evil, perverted mentality of people impersonating as saints is delineated.; a character, that pretends to live in cavity of a tree in the woods, while in reality he absconds with a beautiful girl of a nearby city. In the fourth story (ਮਾਲਮਤੀ – Maalmati), a character of a Muslim lady is painted to illustrate the fact that these amorous events are prevalent in every social order. Sixth (ਅਨੁਰਾਗ ਮਤੀ – Anurag Mati) and seventh (ਜਗ ਜੋਤਮਤੀ – Jag Jogmati) Charitars depict the killing of a couple having illicit relations and eight (ਚਿਤਰਕਲਾ – Chitarkala) Charitar tells the story of a characterless woman who commits heinous crimes of killing her son and husband.

The adversaries of Sri Dasam Granth are particularly critical of the sixteenth (ਛਜੀਆ – Chhajia) Charitar because the events in this story create an illusion of it being associated with Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The story goes like this: A king lives happily on the banks of river Satluj. A prostitute, in greed of money, comes to the king’s house. She gets smitten by king’s good looks, but her beauty does not have any effect on the king. She even tries sorcery on him, but all attempts prove unsuccessful. One day, she comes to the king’s court disguised as a Yogi. The king decides to establish contact with her so that he can learn some magic Mantra (i.e. verify her true internal qualities). The prostitute, disguised as a yogi, tells the king to come see her at midnight at her place. Upon king’s arrival, the yogi orders everyone else to leave and asks for incense, candles, rice, flowers and wine, which the king makes available. The prostitute in yogi’s disguise says to the king that she has got magical power of converting her physical form; that she will disclose the Mantra in male form but will copulate with him in her female form. The king refuses and says, the givers of Mantras are like parents, one cannot dream of having pervert relations with them.

The prostitute then says, “That man, who refuses to satisfy the sexual desires of a passion ridden woman, should be thrown in hell. If you do not copulate with me, I will scream that you are a thief and get you arrested… People from all corners come to you for rewards, then why do you disappoint me?” The king argues, “Why should I destroy my virtues by having immoral relations with you?” Upon hearing this, the woman screams and gathers everyone but quickly changes the version of her story and says she was just murmuring in sleep. Everyone leaves, and she starts pressurising the king again to copulate with him. The king devises a plan and gets the woman drugged; after she falls unconscious, he returns back to his home safe and sound. The king says, “The Mantra that I have learned from this yogi is that I will never have any sexual contact with her. This woman does not know the meaning of love and affection; her only aim in life is to obtain more money and physical gratification.” –

The king had returned home after leaving 60 coins on the bedside of the unconscious woman. Upon coming home, he swore, “With great effort, I have been able to protect my virtues. I will never, ever look at any woman other than my wife. This pledge is now etched deep in my heart.”

Skeptics associate this story with Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. There is one more story before this one, that story is associated with Amritsar and Kiratpur Sahib. The opposition has several arguments – They say that how could it be possible that characterless people lived in cities of Guruji. But even to this day, do only religious people live at holy places? Pilgrims at major holy places get their personal belongings stolen. Therefore, Guruji is giving this caution that immoral people not only enter religious places, they can also try to deceive innocent pilgrims. The protagonist of Guruji does not go to Chajjia to learn any Mantra, because there is nothing but “sex Mantra” in her possession. In the story, a great attempt has been made to expose the real facet of a sexually obsessed woman impersonating as a holy person. The real Mantra (lesson) to be learnt was to reach deep down and expose the intrinsic character of such perverted individuals disguised as yogis. That is why Guruji says that only Mantra that’s learnt from this episode is that no immoral relations should be established with such a woman.

ਰਾਇ ਤਬੈ ਚਿਤ ਭੀਤਰ ਕਿਯਾ ਬਿਚਾਰ ਹੈ ॥
ਯਾਹਿ ਨ ਭਜਿਹੌ ਆਜੁ ਮੰਤ੍ਰ ਕਾ ਸਾਰ ਹੈ ॥

There is a specific meaning and purpose behind giving 60 coins to Chajjia. It has been told in the early parts of this Charitar that this woman became immoral because of her greed for money. The primary reason for entering prostitution has always been money. The act of giving 60 coins symbolises that help should be provided to these daughters of humanity who have fallen into immoral trades because of their poor economic situations; that they can become women for high moral character. The next message the rational composer wants to give through the Charitar is that whenever there is a situation where prestige and faith are at stake, a man should always defend his faith and religious duties. Whenever such tricky situations surface in other Charitars, perverted people do not hesitate from killing even their own loved ones; in contrast, the protagonist of this Charitar shows immense sympathy for the sorry state of that woman. At the same time, he reiterates his unshakable pledge:

The king had returned home after leaving 60 coins on the bedside of the unconscious woman. Upon coming home, he swore, “With great effort, I have been able to protect my virtues. I will never, ever look at any woman other than my wife. This pledge is now etched deep in my heart.”

Skeptics associate this story with Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. There is one more story before this one, that story is associated with Amritsar and Kiratpur Sahib. The opposition has several arguments – They say that how could it be possible that characterless people lived in cities of Guruji. But even to this day, do only religious people live at holy places? Pilgrims at major holy places get their personal belongings stolen. Therefore, Guruji is giving this caution that immoral people not only enter religious places, they can also try to deceive innocent pilgrims. The protagonist of Guruji does not go to Chajjia to learn any Mantra, because there is nothing but “sex Mantra” in her possession. In the story, a great attempt has been made to expose the real facet of a sexually obsessed woman impersonating as a holy person. The real Mantra (lesson) to be learnt was to reach deep down and expose the intrinsic character of such perverted individuals disguised as yogis. That is why Guruji says that only Mantra that’s learnt from this episode is that no immoral relations should be established with such a woman.

ਰਾਇ ਤਬੈ ਚਿਤ ਭੀਤਰ ਕਿਯਾ ਬਿਚਾਰ ਹੈ ॥
ਯਾਹਿ ਨ ਭਜਿਹੌ ਆਜੁ ਮੰਤ੍ਰ ਕਾ ਸਾਰ ਹੈ ॥

There is a specific meaning and purpose behind giving 60 coins to Chajjia. It has been told in the early parts of this Charitar that this woman became immoral because of her greed for money. The primary reason for entering prostitution has always been money. The act of giving 60 coins symbolises that help should be provided to these daughters of humanity who have fallen into immoral trades because of their poor economic situations; that they can become women for high moral character. The next message the rational composer wants to give through the Charitar is that whenever there is a situation where prestige and faith are at stake, a man should always defend his faith and religious duties. Whenever such tricky situations surface in other Charitars, perverted people do not hesitate from killing even their own loved ones; in contrast, the protagonist of this Charitar shows immense sympathy for the sorry state of that woman. At the same time, he reiterates his unshakable pledge:

And finally the following verse, which the adversaries of Sri Dasam Granth Ji are calling the ideas of the writer, and use it to launch attacks against the Granth are in fact uttered by Chajjia and not by Sri Guruji:

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa
Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh Guru Roop Sangat Jeo,
As we all know, there have been a lot of misconceptions and negativity being spread about this Composition of Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji. It is my sincerest hope that the following article will help to clear some of these misconceptions and doubts that darshan lal and his band of followers have been propagating in the Panth. I would urge everyone, including sisters, to kindly have a read because Charitropakhyan is definitely not what is made out to be and is no way against womanhood. In this article, i have borrowed almost exclusively from Dr. Habhajan Singh Ji’s book, with few additions from Gyani Narain Singh Ji’s Steek. If this Kirpa of Guruji continues, he will surely take the next seva too. Thank you for reading this, now on to the article

This composition of Sri Dasam Granth – completed at Sri Anandpur Sahib in Bikrami 1753 (1696 AD) – is the most loathed work by this Granth’s adversaries. It mainly describes the characters of females trapped in pursuits of pleasure; although there are few descriptions of male characters too. The primary sources of these Charitars are the Mahabharata, stories from Puranas, Brihat Katha, Saritasagar Katha, Alif Laila, and Katha Granths etc.; but they also contain famous religious, social and historical tales from local and international places. These stories are associated with kings and queens, prince and princesses, wealthy people, sadhus and sanyasis, prostitutes, etc.; with mostly amatory stories being prominent. There is a moral message, in one form or another, attached with each of these stories; a message that is universally applicable to entire mankind. Those who are sceptical of Sri Dasam Granth believe that, because indecent language flows in this composition, it cannot be work of Guruji. They consider it to be work of Shaakat poets (worshippers of Maya), because it is their belief that it includes Shaakatpanthis characteristics of engrossment in Maya. Although scholars like Bhai Kahn Singh ‘Nabha’ do not doubt that it is the work of Guruji, they believe that, in the debate that followed within the Panth after the compilation of Banis in Sri Dasam Granth by Bhai Mani Singh Ji, some Sikhs were of the view that since it is difficult to read this Bani amongst mothers and sisters, it should be left in a separate pothi so that while responsible individuals can read and recite such Banis, wider Sangat does not get to face any moral difficulties of doing its paath. Even though the author of this Bani has not divided it into sections, we could divide it in logical categories for our purposes of in-depth critical analysis and disquisition.
This Bani begins in the following manner:

For the sake of convenience of our readers, we take the liberty of dividing this Bani as follows:1. It begins with ‘Chandi Charitar’ comprising of 48 verses, in which the Devi has been eulogised.2. In the second part, ministers of King Chitr Singh tell him 402 different tales of crimes originating from sexual desires (Kaam), so that the dreadful veil of kaam could be lifted from his mind.3. After 403 tales, there is a composition called ‘Sabudh Baach’ in which ‘Baala’ and ‘Kaal’ clash with demons.4. In the end, there is the ever popular ‘Kabeyo Baach Benti’ (Hamri Karo Haath Dai Raccha).

A brief analysis of the above four categories can help in clearing many misconceptions about this work:

CHARITAR NUMBER 1 – CHANDI CHARITAR

In 48 verses, the character of ‘Chandi’ has been described, but here Chandi is not a revered Devi of Hindu or any Tantric faith. Chandi is that force of Akal Purakh which, from the beginning of time, has been active in destroying impious forces. This force is also the sword, and also the blade. It is one such sword, the rein of which is diverse and widespread even in far off lands, in all four corners; therefore, it is inappropriate to group and limit this maternal-force to India and its religions. It is Jogmaya (the force with which the universe is created), Saraswati (the Devi of knowledge) and mighty Bhawani. It has brought about the existence of Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh, as per the following:

In 48 verses, the character of ‘Chandi’ has been described, but here Chandi is not a revered Devi of Hindu or any Tantric faith. Chandi is that force of Akal Purakh which, from the beginning of time, has been active in destroying impious forces. This force is also the sword, and also the blade. It is one such sword, the rein of which is diverse and widespread even in far off lands, in all four corners; therefore, it is inappropriate to group and limit this maternal-force to India and its religions. It is Jogmaya (the force with which the universe is created), Saraswati (the Devi of knowledge) and mighty Bhawani. It has brought about the existence of Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh, as per the following:

In above verses, we can see that this force manifests itself as the source of creation of not only numerous Devis but also the three main Devtas. In no way it is a Devi of Hindu faith, for it is the creator of this entire universe and also of people of different faiths and beliefs. Not only that, the spread of different faiths and religions is its own expansion. All those who live in remembrance of Akal Purakh are created by this very force. It has got extremely horrific appearance and it is also like an extremely beautiful, virgin girl. These paradoxical forms presented above are worth contemplating on. Here, instead of being a Devi, the source of creation, or the Primal Force, it takes on the form of a female. The protagonist of 403 Charitars is a nymph of ugly proportions whereas the protagonist ‘Baala’ of ‘Sabudh Baach’ is pure and chaste girl that is decorated with pure qualities; she is someone whose chastity can never be violated. This virtuous ‘Baala’ takes the position of ‘Kaur’ in Sikh faith. It is a mistake to call ‘Kaur’ princess of the Guru. The word ‘Kaur’ (ਕੌਰ) is derived from ‘Kunwar’ (ਕੁੰਵਰਿ), which means ‘A chaste female’ i.e. a female whose purity remains intact forever. Thus, its ugly form is associated with a nymphomaniac, while its beauty is associated with high moral character.

The Chandi of Charitropakhyan is the source of creation, the Devi, the force of Maya, slayer of demons in the form of deadly weapons, and in the form of cultured and virtuous woman too. Not only it is the destroyer of demons like ‘Sumbh-Nisumbh’, ‘Chand-Mund’, ‘Rakhatbeej’, etc.; it also is the source of the enunciation of all four Vedas. This primal force is also the creator of all struggles and conflicts in this world. It manifests as ‘Narsingh’ and destroys the demon ‘Harnakash’. This force also takes on the form of brave men and courageous women. It is creator of this universe and also its destroyer. It takes on the form of Ram in order to destroy ‘Ravana’ and it also takes on the Avatar of Krishna for the destruction of demon ‘Kans’. In these situations, it does not remain the primal force of Shaakats and Tantriks; instead it emerges as the constructive force of Akal Purakh Waheguru Ji, the mention of which appears in ‘Anand Sahib’ Bani of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj:

Quote

ਸਿਵ ਸਕਤਿ ਆਪਿ ਉਪਾਇ ਕੈ ਕਰਤਾ ਆਪੇ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਵਰਤਾਏ ॥

Similarly, there is also mention of this force in Guru’s Arjan Dev Ji’s Bani ‘Maaru Di Vaar’. Here, we are told of Waheguru Ji’s dominance and command over this force of creation. In ‘Devi Bhagvat Puran’ too, the Devi is the force of creation – ‘Namō Devai Parkaritai’ (ਨਮੋ ਦੇਵਯੈ ਪ੍ਰਕ੍ਰਿਤਯੈ). In reality, the Devi of Hindu Shaastras is both the force of ‘Sankhai Shaastar’ as well as the force of God. It is present as the force of Maya of God, above the forms of wife of Devtas and those of numerous Devis. This quote from ‘Devi Bhagvat Puran’ verifies the above stated fact – “Brahma asked: ‘Are you male or female?’ To this, Devi replied: ‘The One and Only truth is Brahm, there is no difference between us. Whatever He is, I am that. Due to ignorance, people differentiate between me and Him. Only that Brahm is supreme, He is indestructible and has been present even before the beginning of time (Snatan). During the process of creation of this universe, it takes up countless different forms and that is when we both appear different, like a reflection in the mirror. At the end of the universe, I cease to exist as a male or female…. “. This Devi, the force of Maya, is definitely different from the Devi that is worshipped as the wife of Devtas. In some areas of the Tantric faith, it appears to have superiority over the male or Shiva. According to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj however, this force performs its actions as per the Hukam of Akal Purakh Waheguru:

The girl ‘Baala’ of Charitropakhyan is also shown to perform her actions within the sweet Hukam of Waheguru, although absolute victory in ‘holy war’ initiated by the male is depicted to be impossible without ‘Baala’ bursting into the battle scene. To win over ‘Kaal-Purakh’ in husband form is her penultimate goal. In this case, she is the soul-bride and Kaal-Purakh Waheguru as husband. In contrast to the indecent and ignominious union of male and female that was mentioned in the dialogues of minister ‘Bhoop’, this establishes the male and female union of limitless purity and pulls mankind out of the sorry state of that disgraceful situation; and even though narrative style may appear to be different from that of Bani of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the similarity in the levels of purity depicted in its final form is unparalleled and inseparable.

In this first Charitar, that primal force is in the form of Vishnu resting comfortably on the bed of Shesh-Naag’s coil and that very force is in the form of lion-riding Durga too. That force is also the red-clothes-wearing Usha (in the form of red colours of Dawn) i.e. a highly virtuous woman has the capacity to destroy darkness and deliver new verve and freshness to life. It is also the wearer of white clothes (in the form of bright light in high skies) and it is also the yellow-colour-clad evening (in the form of pale yellow light of Dusk). Thus, woman depicts limitless beauty in all three stages of life – Childhood, Youth and Old age. Without any doubt, this Devi is Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s vision of utopian virtuous woman, and is totally different from the Devi mentioned in Puran-Shaasters. These sentiments are in no way different from those depicted in the verses of universally accepted ‘Akal Ustat’, where Waheguru has been described as diversified in various forms of Devi:

In these verses of ‘Akal Ustat’, Waheguru has been referred to as forms of Devi, because according to Sikh philosophy the force of creation, Maya or primal-force is nothing but diversification of The Brahm. In reality, upon reading descriptions of Chandi Charitars at different places of Sri Dasam Granth, it appears as if Guru Gobind Singh Ji, by saying ‘Only Thou!, Only Thou!’, is describing various forms of Akal Purakh Waheguru and is seeing Him omnipresent in everything around. The following verses of ‘Chandi Charitar’ exemplify this state:

Meaning – The one who is Primal, Infinite, beyond any description, limitless, deathless, garbles, invisible, and eternal; (who) created Shiv-Shakti, four Vedas, rajo-tamo-sato three modes of Maya, and pervades in all three worlds; (who) created day and night, the lamps of Sun and Moon, the whole world and the five elements; (who) extended enmity and fight between the gods and demons and Himself seated (separately) watches over it. [The author has made a footnote here stating that original Gurmukhi translation of the verse presented above is taken from Dr. Rattan Singh Jaggi’s Steek (staunch adversary of Sri Dasam Granth) so that no allegation of wrong meanings could be levelled against him.]

Meaning – O Ocean of mercy! If Thy Grace is bestowed upon me, (then) I may compose the story of Durga and my poetry (Bani) could be the best |2| (whose) light is shining in the world, (who) is the mighty destroyer of demons like Chand-Mund, (whose) mighty arms punishes the demons and (who) is the creator of the nine regions of this universe.

Meaning – It is you Durga, who ferries across the people; you are the redeemer of earth and slayer of demons. You are the cause of Shakti of Shiva – Parvati, and Shakti of Vishnu – Lakshami. You are the Rajo-Tamo-Sato qualities essence of which is the poetry, latent in mind of the poet. You are the philosopher’s stone in the world, which transforms the iron that it touches into gold.
The same feelings are also seen in ‘Chandi Di Vaar’:

Meaning – The supreme authority first created Shakti in the form of double-edged sword; (then) created the entire world. After creating Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, (then) created the play of Nature. (You created) the oceans, mountains and land and suspended the skies without support of any columns. (You then) created Devtas and Demons and created strife amongst them. You also created Durga and (through her) destroyed the demons. Ram Chander received all his might from You, who then killed Ravana with arrows. Krishna received the strength from You, who threw down Kans by grabbing his hair. Great sages and Devtas practiced great austerities for many Yugas, (but out of them) no one could find Your end.

Similar expressions can be seen in the beginning of Raas-Leela (dance and celebration) episode of ‘Krishnavtar’. It is important to explain here that progression and social development of women was Sri Guruji’s first priority. At the end of ‘Bachitter Natak’, Guruji gives hint of writing about tales associated with Avtars; however, he also states that he will write ‘Chandi Charitar’ before ‘Avtar-Leela’. In ‘Raas-Leela’ of ‘Krishnavtar’, the amorous portrayal of Gopis was an inseparable part in traditional puranic texts, and as such, its mention was crucial for the poet. Before that description however, Guruji writes about ‘Devi Di Ustat’ (eulogy to woman). The real puporse of this narrative is to clarify that, although mention of sexuality of Gopis was crucial, it is not the only facet of woman; rather, her true form is that of a virtuous, brave, fierce (like edge of a sword), and pure Devi. In the above narrative, Guruji, by saying ‘Only Thou! Only Thou!’ creates such a majestic impression; it’s almost as if he is praising Akal Purakh with each description of female form. In concluding verses of ‘Devi Ustat’ in ‘Krishnavtar’, Guruji makes Akal Purakh and Devi indistinguishable, just like in Gurbani, where all the Avtars and their names point towards that one and only Akal Purakh Waheguru:

In Charitropakhyan, majority of the charitars written in dialogues of ministers “Bhoop” present an amorous picture of females. The only motive of writing ‘Chandi Charitar’ in the beginning of this composition is to state that the real image of females in the mind of the poet is not of a sexual nature. That form is only created by wealthy people and pleasure-seeking libertines like King Chitr Singh. In her true form, she adopts that active force which is fully capable of eradicating all crimes and evils from this world. On one hand, there is a social structure that gladly hands her the sword for the destruction of tyrants, and also gives her equal opportunities to excel and touch the peaks of success in all walks of life. On the other hand however, there is that primitive male-dominated social order which treats her like an object of sexual desire and keeps her confined to the parameters of the house. Such social structure pushes her towards destructive activities. Her extremely sharp intellect and limitless strength is capable of breaching walls of the house; even in that confinement, she has the capacity to destroy the biggest of kings, wealthy and powerful people without using even a single weapon. Therefore, it is up to the male society to decide whether it wants to choose destruction or progression. The path of equality of men and women leads to progression, while inequality will most certainly bring about destruction and chaos. If male society chooses the road of progression and gives her equal opportunities in constructive tasks, evils, oppressions, and immorality will be destroyed. But, if she is sidelined and forced to live under shadow of males, she will keep reminding male society of her limitless force even while treading on the path forced upon her. Male writes at length about her characters, yet he is the one responsible for her destructive form. When male society is aware of the fact that female intellect is capable of transforming any impossibility into plausible situation, then why does it look down on women? Why does it not use her peerless strength for growth and betterment of humanity? In Charitropakhyan, she, with her sharp intellectuality and limitless capability, destroys the enemies of Faith with her fierce tigress bites; she also eradicates fears from the minds of meek and oppressed Brahmins. Dasam Guru Pita Ji tells us that this Devi, this force, has appeared in the form of Sri Krishna, Lord Buddha and avatars like ‘Machh’ and ‘Kachh’. He describes some of her capabilities in Charitropakhyan:

Meaning – The demons were as radiant as the Sun, and their bodies were mighty as the mountains. They were so full of ego that they could not place their feet on the ground. They roared like big, grizzly bears and fearlessly played horrific sounds on the war-drums and Nagaras. These demons fell down spinning when Bhawani attacked them with her arrows.

In reality, with Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji as base, an effort has been made to inform the whole world that no other religion or philosophy can match the praise and respect given to women in Sikh faith. In Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji, the battlefields, in which even king of men ‘Indra’ becomes unsuccessful in defeating the enemy, woman comes out victorious. We get to see an exquisite descriptive example of this in ‘Chandi Di Vaar’. The following appears in Charitropakhyan:

Meaning – The horrible warriors could not be destroyed; even ‘Indra’ could not manage to push them back. When they roared in the battlefield, everyone except ‘Kali’ fled the scene. Kali (whose form is stigmatised by society) got enraged and chopped the warriors down; like forest of bananas trees chopped and spread on ground. Their clothes got drench with blood; it’s as if everyone is merrily dancing during Holi.

This is how woman’s valiant (constructive) form is depicted in the parable of ‘Chandi’ in the first Ang of ‘Charitropakhyan’.